Prepare Thinking Through on Civility and Academic Freedom

Thinking Through: Civility
In the wake of a number of campus incidents that involved use of what might terms as “hate speech,” cultural appropriation (hateful language written on bathroom walls, Greek members dressed as “cholas,” the circulation of an off-campus newspaper that specialized in defaming and insulting numerous traditionally targeted groups), students, staff, faculty and others lobbied the President to create a university speech code that would limit the use of inflammatory words and acts of intolerance on campus. In response the administration implemented The Civility Project (located at http://www(dot)csusm(dot)edu/civility/index.html) in an effort to help students and others learn to conform to the philosophy stated on the Civility homepage: “The university strives to be a community demonstrating respect for oneself and for others, treatment of others with dignity, and behaviors which promote a physically and psychologically safe, secure and supportive climate enabling all community members to engage as full and active participants where the free flow of ideas is encouraged and affirmed.”
Around the country, civility debates are raging. Many see civility as a threat to academic freedom and/or free speech while others believe that civility is a central aspect of the learning environment. Some see incivility as an expected side effect of increasing diversity on college campuses, while still others argue that it’s the lack of diversity that breeds incivility (under-represented groups are often targeted, thus by increasing their representation on campus, they become less of a target). Still others see all the uproar on college campuses a result of whiney students, left-wing radical professors and the culture of "political correctness." The following links report on recent incidents and opinions regarding civility on college campuses:
http://academeblog(dot)org/2014/09/08/is-incivility-the-new-communism/
http://chronicle(dot)com/article/Pleas-for-Civility-Meet/148715/
http://www(dot)diversityinc(dot)com/diversity-management/the-culture-of-bullying-loss-of-civility-at-school-work-politics/
https://www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=ZNJyDyCocGQ Bill Maher
If interested, you can visit this link to see how one California University has addressed the issues: http://civilityproject(dot)ucdavis(dot)edu/makingsense/
For this essay, you are to read the provided links as well as two additional articles of your choice (please provide a references list) and develop a position on the utility of civility as a tool for creating respectful learning environments. You should contemplate its usefulness as well as its limits and carefully explain specifically HOW you see it being useful and/or limited. You should provide strong evidence and logic for your position. Academic writing and proofing is expected